Now that his remarkable comeback has completed its regular-season portion, perhaps the legacy of Peyton Manning should be revisited.

It was never a question of whether he was among the best quarterbacks of all time. That is indisputable. The debate is whether he is the best.

Manning’s legacy doesn’t need a fifth MVP, nice as that would be. It needs a second Super Bowl ring.

The journey for No. 2 was enhanced Sunday with the acquisition of No. 1. Manning was especially sharp, throwing three touchdown passes in the Broncos’ name-their-score, 38-3 whipping of the pathetic Kansas City Chiefs before a bundled but satisfied sellout crowd at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

In the locker room afterwards, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen presented the game ball to his coach John Fox, who picked up his 100th career NFL victory. Fox told his owner he hoped to get him three more before the season was out.

“Coach Fox made a point for us to take a day to reflect on what we have done this season,” Manning said. “I know I’ll certainly do that. It’s been quite a year for me. It’s been like no other year I’ve been through.”

The crowd delivered a standing ovation to the Broncos’ defense as it moved from the south side to the north between the third and fourth quarters. And the fans chanted “MVP!” for Manning as the final seconds ticked off.

In his first season with the Broncos, Manning set several single-season franchise records and surpassed numerous NFL milestones. Most importantly, he helped Denver secure the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. The Broncos’ 11th consecutive win, coupled with the Houston Texans’ second straight loss, means the AFC playoffs will go through Denver.

“The Super Bowl is what it’s all about with Peyton,” said Broncos star cornerback Champ Bailey. “He’s such a team guy. Individual awards are great — I’d love to see him get the MVP but at the same time, I know what he really wants is that ring.”

Manning and the Broncos will get a bye week from the playoffs’ first round. In the second round, the Broncos will stay home to play at 2:30 p.m. MST Saturday, Jan. 12, most likely against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 4-seed Baltimore and Manning’s previous team, the No. 5 Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s a damn good feeling right now,” said Broncos tight end Joel Dreessen. “It will be nice to take a week off and watch everybody else go at it.”

In the other first-round playoff game, the fading, No. 3-seeded Texans will host the No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals. The New England Patriots will also get a first-round bye after they earned the No. 2 seed.

But if Tom Brady — one of Manning’s chief rivals in the “best quarterback of all time” discussion — and the Patriots are to play in their sixth Super Bowl in 12 years, they may well have to beat the Broncos. And if they play the Broncos, it will be in the AFC championship game. In Denver.

Entering the regular-season finale Sunday, the NFL’s MVP race was between Manning and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. It’s possible Peterson is now the frontrunner after he finished the season with 2,097 rushing yards, the second most in NFL history, and powered the Vikings to the playoffs with a 37-34 win against Green Bay.

But Manning also stamped his candidacy Sunday while wearing a Broncos’ orange-and-blue glove to protect his right throwing hand from the December chill. The glove was more aid than hinderance as Manning completed 23 of 29 for 304 yards, three touchdowns and a robust 144.8 passer rating.

In three quarters. Did Michael Jackson get this production out of one glove?

“You know, for wearing it for the first time in my career, I guess you could say it’s been OK,” Manning said.

It was nearly two years ago that Manning played in the 2010-season Pro Bowl, then went down with a neck injury that eventually required four neck surgeries to repair. It forced him to miss the entire 2011 season with the Colts, and led Indianapolis to release him so it began anew with a No. 1 draft choice named Andrew Luck.

The Colts’ gain was the Broncos’ gain. Manning’s first regular season with the Broncos is now in the books: A team-record 400 completions for a team-record 4,659 yards and a team-record 37 touchdown passes against just 11 interceptions.

“I had no real expectations for what this year would be like,” he said.”So I don’t know if you can exceed expectations if you never really had any. But it’s been a gratifying regular season and very humbling.”

More importantly, Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 record — not a team record but their first No. 1 playoff seeding since their 1998 Super Bowl team set the record with a 14-2 regular-season mark.

Now, with the 2012 regular season turning to the 2013 postseason, Manning’s legacy as one of the best may be three wins away from nothing but the best.

• Denver will host the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round and will play at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12. This means if No. 6 Cincinnati wins, the Bengals will be Denver’s opponent. If No. 3 Houston wins, then the Broncos will play the Baltimore-Indianapolis winner.

• No. 2 seed New England also gets a bye in the wild-card round and will host Houston or, if Cincinnati wins, the Baltimore-Indy winner on Sunday, Jan. 13.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

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